Since it took over the former Bright space in Netil House at the end of 2023, Bambi has become a buzzy staple in London Fields’s increasingly thriving scene of characterful bars and eateries. Its ethos has always been simple: to be a one-stop shop for a good night out, a place where you can eat well, drink something strong and delicious, and have a dance, all under one roof.
“In the UK, we have this real distinction where you go to a bar for drinks and a restaurant for food and a club for music, whereas when I was travelling around Europe everyone was a bit more casual about it – there’s a restaurant, but it’s open until 2am,” says founder James Dye (One Club Row and The Knave of Clubs). “We just wanted to make somewhere where you can go to one place and have great fun.”
For the past two years, Bambi has been doing exactly that – so successfully that it’s already outgrown its original space. In January the venue closed to knock through its back wall and expand its square feet and its potential. It reopened last week after doubling its indoor space to make room for 70 covers, including a new mezzanine level, with an extra 10 covers at the bar and 50 in a new outdoor terrace that’s reserved for walk-ins. “A lot of people struggled to get reservations before, but now it’ll be this really casual place where you can drop in, with community, local vibes to it,” says Dye.
The vinyl-only DJ booth has always been central to weekends at Bambi and now there’s a mix of resident and guest DJs every night it’s open. During the week, they’ll spin records while you eat; on Fridays and Saturdays, the tables get pushed back and turned into a proper dance floor until 1am. Genre-wise, you can expect everything. “Because it’s vinyl-only, it means you get a certain type of DJ who has a really deep record collection, whether that’s disco or jazz or Brazilian music,” Dye says.
Head chef Jamie Thorneycroft (formerly Lagom) is returning to an expanded kitchen with a new charcoal grill that has heavily influenced the menu, enabling Bambi to serve fire-cooked large plates including Bambi’s signature chicken skewers, steak and more. Drilling down into its influences, which reach from the Mediterranean and further afield, highlights of the new menu include small plates like chalk stream trout tostada and scallop ceviche, and a Thai-style crab salad with papaya. On the drinks menu are low-intervention wines, plus cocktails including a hibiscus Margarita and the Bambi Martini – a slightly sweeter twist on the original made with a maraschino cherry.
If Bambi 1.0 tested out Dye’s vision, then its new incarnation is set to give it the space to thrive. “What we were always trying to do was create somewhere fun and buzzy but just a little bit grown up,” says Dye. “A lot of listening bars can feel quite serious, whereas we wanted something more casual that feels like you can let loose.”
Bambi
1 Westgate Street, E8 3RL
02038220301
Hours:
Tue to Thu 6pm–midnight
Fri 4pm–1am
Sat midday–1am
Sun 1pm–10.30pm
